. >> ifill: so senator durban, help me here. how is what is being said on capitol hill today which everybody says we're going to work together, we're going to compromise, how is that different from where we left this play last time we were sitting in the audience? >> we are edging closer to the cliff. >> ifill: how? >> decemer 3 is the deadline. on that date there will be dramatic changes in the tax laws as they affect middle income and upper income families and we're going to see spending cuts, automatic spending cuts, going in place. so we voted for this, democrats and republican ace like voted for it, said we want to make things so ominous, so foreboding that we'll do something. i think that will move us to action. the president has said the first move should be protect middle income families from a tax increase. if speaker boehner says i'll go along with that, that's where we'll start. i think e converti is under way for a solution. >> ifill: senator durban, are you kicking the can down the road by only talking about the tax